Battle of Kiryat Ata

The Battle of Kiryat Ata (5 December 1186) was a battle between the Ayyubid Caliphate and the Kingdom of Jerusalem/Knights Templar. The Jerusalemites, under Morcar of Flers and Templar Marshall Robert of Vire, defeated the Ayyubid army under al-Mustanjid of Faqus and inflicted heavy losses on them.

Background
In the 1180s, Saladin's Saracen army conquered city after city in the Kingdom of Jerusalem, while also building up the infrastructure of his Ayyubid Caliphate. The Jerusalemites, allied with the Knights Templar, fought a series of campaigns to defend their cities and castles from the Saracens, and on 5 December 1186 an army of 1,446 Saracens under al-Mustanjid of Faqus attacked into northern Israel, where they encountered an army of 921 Jerusalemites and Templars under Morcar of Flers and Robert of Vire.

Dispositions
The Templar and Jerusalemite army consisted of the Jerusalemite general's cavalry bodyguards, the Constable of Jerusalem's cavalry bodyguards, the cavalry bodyguards of the Templar Marshall, Templar Knights, Templar sergeants, and Lebanese Maronite archers. With most of their army consisting of horsemen, the Christians had the advantage over their Muslim opponents.

The Saracen army consisted of militia, with their commander al-Mustanjid riding on a horse with a few of his bodyguards mounted behind him. The Saracen militia were cannon fodder, armed with daggers and knives instead of the spears and swords that the Christians were equipped with.

Battle
At the start of the battle, Morcar gave an inspiring speech to his men, telling them that he would send all of the Saracens to heaven or hell before the day was over, and told them all to say their final prayers before advancing into combat. All of the Jerusalemite and Templar cavalry charged, and their infantry were soon to follow in a foot charge. The Christian cavalry stampeded onto the Saracen militia, who were low on morale. Armed with knives and daggers, the militia were easy to slaughter. As they withdrew with their backs to the Christians, the Saracens were prone to being struck and killed by the Christian knights, and many of the Saracens were killed. The Muslim commander al-Mustanjid was killed in battle, along with 834 other Saracen troops. Only 40 Templars and Jerusalemites were lost.

Aftermath
The victory of the Templars and Jerusalemites was inspiring to the Crusaders, but it would be around two years before Jerusalem fell into the Ayyubid Caliphate's hands. The Saracens would march into the Holy City as the followers of the Prophet Muhammad rejoiced, and the Jerusalemites would not return to their capital until the 13th century.